“Guys are so weird.” She shook her head and walked over to join Lucas.
Calliope wasn’t the type to let things go. She’d probably harass Eddie until she got the answers she was looking for.
Boone’s phone rang, and Cole’s name appeared on his screen. He tapped the icon to accept the call. “Hey, Cole.”
“Hey, Boone.” He sighed. “I’m sorry, but we won’t be able to join you guys today. Carter’s running a low-grade fever and is pretty miserable. Fortunately, we never told him he was going to be taking a horsey ride today—we wanted it to be a surprise. If he knew he was missing that, he’d bereallycranky.”
It was funny hearing the wordshorsey rideandcrankycoming from a big, tough man like Cole. The guy might be intimidating and deadly as hell, but he was a giant mountain of mush around his wife and son.
“I’m sorry to hear the little man isn’t feeling well.” Carter was a cool little dude. “Nothing serious, I hope.”
“Nah, Dulce just thinks another tooth is coming in,” Cole said. “Give everyone our apologies, and you guys have a great time.”
“Will do.” Boone added, “Say hi to Dulce and give the little man a high five for me.”
“You got it.” Cole ended the call.
Boone slipped his phone into his pocket and caught sight of another car making its way toward the house. His heart rate kicked up when he recognized Luna’s crossover SUV pulling up the drive.
Ever since having to cut their conversation short the other night at the Turnbuckle, he’d been riddled with curiosity and concern for her. As they were all leaving, he’d tossed out the idea of everyone coming out to his place for a barbecue and some horseback riding. He hadn’t been sure whether she would show up or not, so he was thrilled to see her.
She’d been so close to sharing her secret with him, and he hoped he hadn’t lost all of the ground he’d gained with her. Notthat it mattered. Boone would wait however long it took for her to be comfortable with him.
She pulled up next to Eddie’s Charger and cut the engine. The rear liftgate hissed and started to rise. She climbed out, smiled and shared a wave with Calliope, then looked his way before hurrying around to the back of her car.
Her hair wasn’t in its usual ponytail. Instead, it cascaded down her back like silky dark-blond water. She was wearing her usual T-shirt with jeans that hugged her ass like they were made just for her. He thought of how perfectly his hands would cover her ass cheeks and had to physically shake his head to clear it of the lustful image.
“What is it about this woman?” Boone muttered to himself as he jogged over to her. “Can I help with something?”
“Sure.” She slid her sunglasses to the top of her head to hold her hair back, stepped aside, and he got his first look at what she’d brought with her.
He tipped up the front of his hat a bit and propped his hands on his hips.
A beautiful cornhole set was loaded in the back of her car. It was made with some kind of reddish-brown wood, similar to Sassy’s color.
“That’s a good-lookin’ set.” He’d never seen a finer-looking cornhole set.
“It’s yours.” She gave him a genuine smile that took his breath away. He hoped to see a lot more of them in the future.
“Mine?” He pointed to his chest.
“Yep, Michaeleen made it for you as a housewarming gift. And Molly made the beanbags.” She plucked a beanbag out ofa small tote and showed it to him, dropped it back inside with the others, and slung the strap over her shoulder. “Andi flew in on the corporate jet and brought it with her. She’s at Jeffrey’s dropping off the kids and will be questioning Al-Shamrami tomorrow.”
“I can’t believe they made this for me.” Boone had only met Molly and Michaleen once, when they invited him to a barbecue at their place in Whidbey Cove, Washington.
All new OSI operators spent about a month at the main training facility up there. And the senior O’Hallerans always had a barbecue for them.
“Do you like it?” Luna almost sounded worried.
“Are you kidding? I love it. It’s incredible,” he said. “I still can’t believe they made this for me.”
“They’re pretty special.” She waited while he lifted the set out of the car, then she pressed a button, and the liftgate slowly lowered and clicked shut. “They’ve always been so kind to me.” She slid her sunglasses back onto her face. “Even when I didn’t deserve it.”
Why would she think she didn’t deserve kindness?
“Where do you think you’ll set it up?” Despite her previous statement, she didn’t seem upset.
He didn’t want to risk spoiling her fun by asking what she meant by her comment, so he kept things light.
